I smell a CAIR lawsuit coming on…

By Michelle Malkin  •  July 12, 2007 08:33 AM

An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London was diverted early this morning to New York over security concerns about a Middle Eastern passenger:

Police had boarded the plane in New York and removed a passenger of Middle Eastern descent after the flight crew had spotted the same man on an employee bus earlier, CNN television reported.

The passenger did not appear to have the correct identification showing he was an employee, CNN said.

The pilot told passengers there was a lack of fuel and he would land the London-bound plane at JFK airport in New York.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in an interview that he had been informed by the airline that the passenger was an employee after all.

“I have gotten a report that the individual in question was, in fact, an employee who was traveling in a private capacity,” Chertoff told CNN.

The crew member aboard Flight 136 questioned a passenger whom the employee had seen bypassing security by traveling on an employee-only bus from the parking lot to the LAX airport, according to spokeswoman Sonja Whitemon. Following that conversation, the decision to divert the plane was made. It landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport about 2:30 a.m. ET.

CNN quotes Chertoff praising the flight crew:

…the good news here is that you have somebody who’s alert on the crew and they take appropriate steps at that point to deal with what might be a potentially dangerous situation,” he added. “That’s exactly what we are asking people to do: If you see something, say something.”

Just one problem here, Chertie. Remember your speech the other day at the NAACP convention? You know, the one where you lectured about how we need to “respect the civil rights of Muslim Americans?” Well, when citizen John Does pratice “see something, say something,” it’s an automatic invitation to a CAIR lawsuit by the civil liberties absolutists.

Chertie has chosen to lie in bed with the very people who make a living intimidating and suing vigilant Americans who take homeland security seriously. Head full of lettuce, I tell ya…

***

Speaking of CAIR, Joel Mowbray shines light on the group’s duplicitous ways in the WashTimes today.

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Comments


  1. #1
    On July 12th, 2007 at 8:51 am, ajmontana said:

    Why in this day and age would anyone not carry their proper ID? This moron was probably hoping this would happen to slap the airline with a lawsuit.

  2. #2
    On July 12th, 2007 at 8:52 am, DaleC said:

    ” head full of lettuce ” Nice .
    I would always assume that anything like this is the enemy testing the waters .Just like the flying imams were doing nothing wrong . One little gap in security is all they need.
    If I am wrong I do not really care . Better safe than sorry . US or them .

  3. #3
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:00 am, pickax411 said:

    This key statement in the article is:

    The passenger did not appear to have the correct identification showing he was an employee

    With this point, anyone that passed through or is located in the employee only areas of the airport becomes a danger to the public safety if they do not have proper identification.

  4. #4
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:06 am, JammieWearingFool said:

    Joel Mowbray smokes ‘em today.

    CAIR’s duplicitous ways

  5. #5
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:19 am, englishqueen01 said:

    I can’t even use my employer’s fitness center if I don’t have my employee ID – and this guy got on a plane?

    The pilot and police were absolutely 100% correct in their handling of this situation.

    But I agree with Michelle – CAIR is probably already writing up the lawsuit.

  6. #6
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:20 am, katieanne said:

    Sounds to me like a test of airline security. CAIR is in cahoots with the terrorists so I am sure they will be happy to file yet another frivilous lawsuit.

    I agree…better safe than sorry.

    Personally, I am still waiting for moderate Muslims and CAIR to show a support for our country and outrage at radical Islam. I am sure it is going to be a long wait.

  7. #7
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:20 am, LC said:

    How is it that he was allowed on the plane in the first place? How was he able to board the employee only bus if he didn’t have proper employee ID? This is not a case of appropriately dealing with a potentially harmful situation. The guy breached security right off the bat and still boarded the plane. Scary stuff.

  8. #8
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:31 am, gregorystephens said:

    This quite possibly could have been a “dry run” to see how “lax” security is. (pun intended). Or, on the other hand, this just happened to be an employee who just happened to forget his ID who also just happened to bypass security and who also surprisingly just happened to be of middle eastern decent.

  9. #9
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:33 am, schneedoo said:

    How is it that he was allowed on the plane in the first place?

    Must have been break time at the TSA.

  10. #10
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:42 am, doriangrey said:

    CAIR is a terrorist organization, why they havent been arrested and deported is a mystery.

    http://www.anti-cair-net.org/

  11. #11
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:48 am, Bruce said:

    It might be nice to get reports like this, but the liability risk is too significant and soon will compel us not to say anything when we see suspicious activity. Too bad.

  12. #12
    On July 12th, 2007 at 9:48 am, schneedoo said:

    “…If you see something, say something.”

    I hope next time someone says it before takeoff.

  13. #13
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:08 am, reppac122 said:

    He didn’t have the proper ID. For me, that’s the end of the story. One would think that he would be aware of what an employee would require as far as ID goes.

  14. #14
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:17 am, ctmom said:

    Sometimes when I see those 1/20/09 Bush’s last day bumper stickers I think, maybe thats not such a bad thing. It will be Chertoffs last day too.

  15. #15
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:20 am, josetheguerilla said:

    If this case goes to court, it’s going to loose. He didn’t proper ID.

  16. #16
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:22 am, geminicontender said:

    If the word ‘impeachment’ ever arises again I would like to volunteer Chertie as the first in line. What happened to menly men?

  17. #17
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:37 am, ZoneDaiatlas said:

    Is it wrong to wish for CAIR to be sent to “Club Gitmo”?

  18. #18
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:48 am, Pat said:

    Wow, Chertoff supported the right guys! He will soon fire his PR man.

  19. #19
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:50 am, Rusty said:

    Ah, airport security.

    Two months after 9/11, my best friend (accidently) took six boxcutters on a plane.

    Anyone who thinks the TSA is protecting us is sadly mistaken.

  20. #20
    On July 12th, 2007 at 10:51 am, uhangtight said:

    I can’t get into the parking lot where I work without my badge. I have to stop and identify myself with the guard before he will let me in and once I get into the building I am stopped by the same guard, who knows me by the way, and I must sign a form and provide my Drivers License to prove I am who I say I am.

    And, this guy gets on an employee only bus? Did the bus driver know him? Did anyone on that bus know him? If the policy of the airline is to have your employee badge on at all times (when partaking of the privileges provided as being said employee) then he violated company policy. PERIOD. Where I work, that can get you fired.

    I am sure CAIR will attempt an expensive lawsuit. Another waste of time and money. And, of course, just because this guy was an employee doesn’t mean that he isn’t a terrorist, either. Didn’t one of the guys planning the JFK work for the airport, too? Geesh.. we are in trouble folks..

  21. #21
    On July 12th, 2007 at 11:17 am, heroyalwhyness said:

    No ID . . .suffer the consequences.

    If CAIR is to be completely de-legitimized, it would be helpful to hyper-link this story identifying them as co-conspirators in the Hamas funding case.

    CAIR

    Use it effectively.

  22. #22
    On July 12th, 2007 at 11:18 am, sherlock said:

    Yes, uhangtight and others are right – he appears to have properly boarded the PLANE. But he apparently had used an employee-only BUS just prior to that. Probably took advantage of employee free parking for his vacation, then hopped the employee-only bus to the terminal.

    Is it policy to require presenting a badge to access employee-only areas, or do they allow personal recognition? If the latter, it’s only a matter of time before a breach occurs: new guard, fast talker, etc.

    Others have made the point – where I work, personal recognition is not sufficient. We use badge-readers and if you don’t have a badge, or it has expired, you don’t get in, as I recently found out to my embarassment and inconvenience! My badge said it expired June 30, and when I showed up on Monday morning July 2, it didn’t work! That’s how it should be be IMHO.

    By the way, there was no guard to try to bullshit my way past – just a secure one-way personnel gateway. No valid badge, no getting in – period.

  23. #23
    On July 12th, 2007 at 11:30 am, The Raging Republican said:

    Did he get taken off the plane b/c they thought he was trying to smuggle lettuce?

  24. #24
    On July 12th, 2007 at 11:56 am, EdDantes said:

    If there is a lawsuit filed in this case, somebody more important that me needs to seriously question the intentions of the organization who files it and supports it. (Probably CAIR and/or ACLU).

    This is a classic case of someone actually doing the right thing and taking proper steps to avert a potential catastrophe. The airline employee who did the questioning on board the flight should be given a medal, or at the very least a membership to the jelly of the month club.

  25. #26
    On July 12th, 2007 at 12:10 pm, almeehan said:

    At the very least the “employee” should be dismissed for a flagrant violation of security protocol. This obviously is a person that is so stupid and void of what’s going on in the world or a very crafty insider cell member who has been placed in a stratigic position. In either case he/she proved how totally inept our TSA bloated bureacracy demonstrates itself. Heaven help us when the next shoe drops.

  26. #27
    On July 12th, 2007 at 12:13 pm, jeffshultz said:

    Why do airline employees get to circumvent security anyway?

  27. #28
    On July 12th, 2007 at 12:14 pm, Independent Conservative said:

    Years ago, I wrote in details somewhere on the Internet what I, concisely, will tell you now:

    The Islamic terrorists funded, are funding and will fund their attacks on the West with American, European, Canadian and Australian currency.

    Islamic money and logistics are used when Western resources are hard to get or not available when an attack is urgent.

    It seems that we, in the West, are still sleeping.

    Sleeping? No, it’s not the realistic word.

    In denial,
    complacent,
    politically correct,
    sensitive,
    accommodating,
    understanding,
    cowards,
    sissies.

    These are the exact words that describe the state of America and Europe in the 21st Century, in reply to Islam’s declaration of war on Western civilization.

  28. #29
    On July 12th, 2007 at 5:49 pm, Entropy40 said:

    This is in reply to the Independent Conservative. It’s also my first comment here on Michelle’s site (Thank you! :) )

    Unfortunately, you’re exactly correct. We in the US have become complacent, and too PC to defend ourselves. If things keep going the way they’ve been going, soon we’ll have Sharia Law foisted upon us.

    There probably will be another CAIR lawsuit over this. Let’s not forget that one of CAIR’s founders stated “Those who stay in America should be open to society without melting, keeping Mosques open so anyone can come and learn about Islam. If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam … Islam isn’t in America to
    be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book
    of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only
    accepted religion on Earth.” That was stated by Omar Ahmed.

    That should accurately sum up what CAIR really stands for.

  29. #30
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:25 am, palladin said:

    I doubt a lawsuit. Probably evaluation of security and employee training.

  30. #31
    On July 13th, 2007 at 3:40 am, palladin said:

    Looking at the news articles, some things:
    * Now they are saying, he did not ride the employee bus. (He looked like someone who did).
    * The employee bus does not get around security (It appears that it just gets employees from the employee parking lot to the airport).
    * Employees who fly go through security. (IIRC, After a PSA crash caused by a disgruntled /fired employee, Federal law was changed to require this)
    * None of the wire stories I’ve seen say he was middle eastern.

  31. #33
    On August 28th, 2007 at 3:27 am, Bhishma said:

    NY Times called for a free “two week trial” subscription. I replied that I do not read news papaers. Even if I read, there is no way I was going to subscribe to NY Times, but thanks for calling.
    He quickly mumbled.. if you change your mind please call 1-800-whatever…

    Was I rude? LOL…

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